Blake Mycoskie

It may seem like everyone is doing collaborations these days (because they are), but all fashion collabs are different. Sometimes, one party is more involved in the design process than the other, or the designer doesn't have much creative freedom. Sometimes collaborators are chosen just to drum up publicity, and sometimes it's more than that.

Toms has given out over 10 million of pairs of shoes in over 60 countries--but hasn't done much within the US. Until now.
Founder Blake Mycoskie tells us about the "one for one" company's new American initiative.

Remember Tracy Feith? The designer was an early favorite of Michelle Obama's, his Target collection was a hit, and he had standalone boutiques in New York and L.A...until he inexplicably fell off the face of the earth back in 2010. His boutiques closed and it turned out he owed over $200,000 to landlords in NYC and Montauk.
While we still don't know the reason behind his mysterious disappearance from the fashion business, the designer seems to be making a comeback. For real.

Following their collaboration with Toms on a range of cashmere slip-ons (which are now available), The Row's Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen accompanied Toms founder Blake Mycoskie on a shoe drop in Honduras. Toms documented their experience in the above video (from Stylelist), which is definitely worth watching if only for the rare opportunity to see the Olsens looking and acting more down to earth and humble than we've ever seen them.

When we read this story in the LA Times on Sunday, we couldn't quite believe it:
Skechers, makers of those ugly, inefficient sneakers that were inexplicably popular in late 1990s, has created a line of shoes called Bobs. These shoes are in the style of a traditional alpargata shoe--kind of like an espadrille loafer--and for every pair sold, two pairs will be given to a child in need.
Sound familiar? That's because it's the business model of Toms, a shoe line launched by trustafarian/entrepreneur Blake MyCoskie a few years ago. MyCoskie gave away his 1 millionth pair of shoes last month, according the Times.